Cannes Lions 2023 - Questions Posed

Source: Cannes Lions

This will be my last post about the Cannes Lions this year, I promise. But I’ve been commenting only really about the awards winners so far and now I feel like I should also comment on the discussions we were all having, sharing, and observing.

BTW - this was the 70th anniversary of the Festival and Awards. Amazing!

If you’ve been to the Cannes Lions then you know it’s a lot. Multiple official stages, multiple beach installations, multiple brand activations … all happening at the same time. It’s takes active planning and mapping to hit what’s hot, what’s must do, what clients might need, and what you want to bring back to your teams. Plus here at Ketchum we had a few of our own stage presentations and we had dozens of clients onsite with their own presentations and agendas. Divide and conquer was our MO.  

Wall to wall for 5 days. Loved every minute of it. 

So yes we were there in Cannes to celebrate creativity and reward creative excellence that changes brands, companies, societies, and issues. But we are also there to discuss. Lots to discuss.

And here’s what we were chatting about on and off the multiple venues. 

• Number one topic was AI … it’s here to stay but where is it going? While everyone talked about it, no one had the answer. Do you? 

• Data Stacks … how do they need to evolve to better serve brands and those they serve? Are you evolving your approach? 

• Omni-channel marketing … there’s a new way to think about it, but are you adopting fast enough? As I say, “What’s your experience?”

• Where’s the Metaverse … Last year’s hot topic was missing this year. Now it’s mixed reality but how can it apply to your brand?

• Brands in Crisis … while not spoken as much on stage, it was the biggest topic on the streets. By far, everywhere you turned including a session that we hosted with the CMO Accelerators. How do you avoid getting your brand in the middle of it all?

Lots of questions.  Lots of debate and dialogue. Where do you sit? How do you find the answers?

What’s your experience?

Let’s discuss! 

JIM